Runtime Error 53 in Word/Powerpoint with Acrobat 20 under MacOS Sequoia - Workaround fails

[Stephan35878553ffll]

Hi all,

the (well-known) runtime-error 53 reappears more stubbornly after installation of MacOS Sequoia 15.

This time, the well-practiced routine (deleting linkCreation.dotm or Save AsAdobePDF.ppam respectively from their respective folders Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office365/User Content.localized/Startup/… does not work anymore, as the two files are no longer there and thus can't be deleted… (in fact, I searched the files with the finder search engine and could’t find them anywhere else).

Just unchecking the addin inside Word oder PPT does not help either...

Any suggestions what to do about this tiresome error?

Thank you very much!

Stephan

[Guest]

We're not on Sequia yet but we're certainly encountering the same issue on 14.7.

The file-delete workaround, so reliable that we scripted it for all users to run as needed, no longer seems to resolve the issue.

My initial suspicion was that Adobe changed something, like perhaps the locations of the plugin files, but it could very well be the OS update, as @Stephan35878553ffll reported. If this is the case, it applies to 14.7 and 15.

[Subrato Namata]

Apologies to hear this. Is the issue happening with Acrobat 2020 alone. Can you try running office apps in rosetta mode?

[Guest]

Running Microsoft apps in Rosetta mode works for a bit, then it stops and the error comes up anyway. Not only that, but it considerably slows down Word, Excel and PPT.  I'm not sure if it happens when the apps are updated by Microsoft, or when Adobe Acrobat 2020 receives an update. Either way, it was too much of an interruption either way, so we opted to remove the files instead.

[akagarg]

Hi Stephan,

Could you kindly provide the versions of Office and Acrobat that are installed on your computer?Furthermore, after upgrading to Sequoia, have you reinstalled any applications, like as Office or Acrobat? If it is feasible, could you provide the workflow?
Could you please verify whether add-ins are available at any of the following locations:

•  ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content.localized/Start-up
•   /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office365/User Content.localized/Startup/

Regards,

Akanksha

Adobe Acrobat Team

[Guest]

Hi Akanksha,

The "original" folder  ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content.localized/Start-up is empty but the /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office365/User Content.localized/Startup/ contains the files known to cause this issue.

Do you know if this is a change in the install location of the Adobe SaveAs PDF plugins?

[akagarg]

Yes, this is the recent change done to support plugins on Sequoia platform. In Acrobat 2020 on Mac ARM machines, this is a known issue even with new plugin location. You need to run the office applications in rosetta mode to avoid this error with Acrobat 2020. 

Please let me know if you face this error with some other configuration as well. We will look into it and get back to you with better solutions.

Thanks,

Akanksha Garg

Adobe Acrobat Team

[DrAddison]

That second one is the solution. The item in the root Library wasn't showing up on a search of my hard drive, and Microsoft forums only pointed to the file located in Group Containers in the user Library (which were empty as I'd already trashed those files).

[Jan30302666o7b1]

This did not work (MS365 / MacOs 15). I have been deleting the files in the UBF8T346G9.Office/... folder for years, I even wrote a script as this problem redisappeared every time Adobe updated the Acrobat. However, since Sequoia this no longer works. The subfolder in the UBF8T346G9.Office/... is empty, and the Microsoft/ folder only contains a Teams subfolder and none for Office365. The error 53 bothers me and also other team members with Adobe Acrobat multiple times a day as every time we quit all PPT instances and restart, we need to click on the error messages three times. Productivity killer.

[akagarg]

Hi Jan30302666o7b1,

Apologies for the inconvenience caused, can you please share the Acrobat version and your machine architecture(Intel or ARM) along with OS version. 

Regards,

Akanksha

[Jan30302666o7b1]

ARM, MacOS 15.1, Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020.  Was the same on MacOS 14 on my previous MacBook (ARM)

[Heidi38978571w6vn]

Ditto.  New Macbook Pro Dec 2024.  Apple M4 chip.  Sequoia 15.2.  Installing Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 screwed up Word, Excel & Powerpoint.  Supposed resolutions to delete certain files in Library structure are not there.  No Library/Application Support/Microsoft folder exists.  Using Microsoft products in rosetta mode to use Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 is not a solution.  I purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro which was supposed to be compatible with Sequoia 15.  Not so.  What now??? 

[akagarg]

By removing the files from these locations, you will not be able to use Acrobat plugins in office apps. Please refer to the below kb article to resolve this issue.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/runtime-error-acrobat2020-apple-m1.html

[Guest]

Running apps in Rosetta mode does not work reliably. We've had multiple people experience the issue again after setting the apps to run in Rosetta mode. That's why we stopped bothering and just scripted the plugin file removal.

Reality is that the Adobe plugin has little use for day-to-day functions, particularly when Word, Excel and PowerPoint all allow you to Save as PDF.  I also wish I knew the rationale behind not making the plugin optional. A simple checkbox to install or not would have been better than just forcing it every time.

[akagarg]

Hi Glist,

Can you please share the configuration or steps to reproduce when you experienced the issue again after setting the apps to run in Rosetta mode? Is it happened after Arobat or Office update?

Regards,

Akanksha

[Guest]

We used to enable Rosetta mode for Office apps, ran with that for a couple of years. At some point late last or perhaps early this year, staff  running Word/Excel in Rosetta mode began experiencing the error when launching Word.  We checked the settings and all MS apps were still set to run with Rosetta. Toggling Rosetta mode off, then on again did not make a difference. As the issue persisted,  we reverted back to deleting the files and that's when I created the script to remove the files..

As to whether this was caused by an Adobe update or a Microsoft update, I cannot tell you as I have no information on when Adobe updates itself. We're not warned, it just updates. 

[akagarg]

This should not be the case, but thank you for reporting. We will look into it and inform you for any update.

[Jan30302666o7b1]

Thank you. I have read every post and tried all available avenues to remove the error, but since Sequoia, I can't get rid of the error message 53 - neither on Word nor PPT.

[akagarg]

Can you please share the Acrobat version and your machine architecture(Intel or ARM) along with OS version. We will look into it.

[Jan30302666o7b1]

MacBook Pro (2024), MacOS 15.1, Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020. Just reinstalled Acrobat Pro 2020 tonight again. No chance. The folders described in all the messages are empty. 

[DrAddison]

The location of the files has moved - they no longer show up in the User Library but the System Library.

[Jan30302666o7b1]

So whats the path to those files now, @DrAddison?

[akagarg]

@DrAddison , @Jan30302666o7b1 

Can you please try running office application in rosetta mode? This is a known error occurs due to incompatibility between the chipset configuration for Acrobat 2020 and ARM-based devices, such as macOS M1, M2, M3

To resolve the issue, run application using Rosetta mode on your macOS device.

For more details, please refer:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/runtime-error-acrobat2020-apple-m1.html

Regards,
Akanksha

Adobe Acrobat Team

[Jan30302666o7b1]

No Rosetta mode, it's just the Adobe scripts which don't work, and I am not clear why Adobe can't fix this.
Anyway, I have written a script which deletes the files at both locations - those before MacOS 15 and with MacOS15. I have this script as the error seems to reappear every time Adobe distributes an update or security fix for Adobe Pro 2020. You need to replace USERNAME by your username.

#!/bin/sh
# restart Delete Adobe Macros
# execute by: sudo sh filename
# edit: open -t filename
# make executable: chmod 755 YourScriptName.sh

Echo ""

Echo "Remember you need to deactivate Macros in Word/Excel first!"
Echo ""

Echo "Deleting Word Macro..."

cd /Users/USERNAME/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User\ Content.localized/Startup.localized/Word
chmod 777 linkCreation.dotm
rm linkCreation.dotm

cd /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Office365/User\ Content.localized/Startup/Word
chmod u+w linkCreation.dotm
sudo rm linkCreation.dotm

Echo ""
Echo "Deleting PPT Macro..."

cd /Users/USERNAME/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User\ Content.localized/Startup.localized/PowerPoint
chmod 777 SaveAsAdobePDF.ppam
rm SaveAsAdobePDF.ppam

cd /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Office365/User\ Content.localized/Startup/Powerpoint
chmod u+w SaveAsAdobePDF.ppam
sudo rm SaveAsAdobePDF.ppam

Echo ""
Echo "Deleting Excel Macro..."

cd /Users/USERNAME/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User\ Content.localized/Startup.localized/Excel
rm linkCreation.dotm

Echo ""
Echo "done."

[kskadron]

This is great! A key observation here is that these two files (linkCreation.dotm and SaveAsAdobePDF.ppam) now have different permissions that make them hidden in Finder.  Not sure why this was changed.

What the above solution does, which you can also do manually, is use the command line to navigate to the relevant directories. In the main system /Library folder (in /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Office365/User\ Content.localized/Startup), it uses sudo (which requires admin privileges) with the rm command to delete the offending files.  I did this first and found I didn't need to do anything further in the /Users/USERNAME/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User\ Content.localized/Startup.localized subdirectories.

It's kind of insane that the underlying issue that causes this error message remains, after years of complaints.  Incidentally, the file that the error message complains about does exist! But with permissions that make it difficult to access. Not sure if it's Adobe's or Microsoft's fault but surely a trivial fix.  Then none of these hacks requiring users to figure out how to delete the plug-ins would be needed.